ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the workplace experience of hospital International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). Most hospital IBCLC teams are managed by nurse leaders who may not understand their level of expertise or impact potential.
Background: IBCLCs contribute to the interdisciplinary maternal-child health team. They provide evidence-based education and a specialized skill set to support families in achieving infant feeding goals. Hospitals often employ IBCLCs to provide lactation services to patients, meet The Joint Commission Perinatal Core Measure #5, and meet state and federal recommendations. However, the actual workplace experiences of the IBCLCs have not been explored.
Methods: Focus groups were conducted using semi-structured interviews. The transcriptions were confirmed for accuracy by two members of the research team. Deidentified transcripts were analyzed by all four members of the research team independently using thematic analysis. After the first round of coding, the researchers debriefed, reviewed coding, then data were recoded to ensure credibility of findings.
Findings: Ten focus groups were held with a total of 34 participants from 20 states across the U.S. Data saturation was achieved. Themes that emerged were: we are fixers, people see us only as baby latchers, the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative makes a difference but does not solve everything, pulled in different directions, nurse managers do not understand our workload, and we are educators.
Conclusion: IBCLCs are a unique specialty with a high level of training. Failure of hospital leadership to value IBCLCs as allied health professionals diminishes the work capacity and effectiveness inherent in the specialty.